Upazilas told to spend 10–15% on solar panels

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives State Minister Mir Shahe Alam has instructed upazila administrations to spend 10–15% of revenue collected from rural markets on installing solar panels.

He also urged government officials to take initiatives to install solar panels at their own residences.

The state minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a review meeting on solar power, dengue prevention and development programmes held at the Local Government Engineering Department in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Saturday.

Recalling his recent visit to China, where he observed large-scale solar power generation, Mir Shahe Alam stressed the need to expand renewable energy use in Bangladesh.

He instructed all upazila executive engineers to remain proactive in road development and maintenance, expansion of renewable energy and transparent implementation of development activities.

The state minister said around 6,000 kilometres of roads have so far been paved across the country. However, many roads require widening, reconstruction and long-term maintenance. He urged officials to submit proposals for road widening, reconstruction and major maintenance projects.

He said the prime minister had recently approved a maintenance project covering nearly 5,000 kilometres of rural roads. Once maintenance project proposals are submitted from across the country, funds will be allocated from the main budget, allowing upazila executive engineers to meet necessary expenditures.

Noting that roads generally require 72 hours to become fully hardened after carpeting, the state minister instructed contractors to deploy two security personnel during the day and two at night to guard roads during that period.

He asked upazila engineers to perform their responsibilities carefully in this regard.

The state minister said that, according to a government decision and Cabinet approval, the fiscal year would run from 1 April to 31 March from 2028. This would provide a longer opportunity to implement development projects during the continuous dry season from August-September through March.

He also said a parliamentary constitutional amendment committee is working to incorporate matters signed in the July Charter into the Constitution. Issues including an interim government system, a bicameral parliament and the balance of powers between the president and prime minister are being considered by the committee.

At the end of the discussion, he said evaluation-based discussions with upazila executive engineers would be held in the future as necessary.

Md Shahidul Hasan attended the meeting as a special guest. Local Government Engineering Department Chief Engineer Md Belal Hossain chaired the meeting. Senior officials from the department and ministry were also present.

//DBTech/MJB/SMP/BPC//